Position in God vs. Position in the Body of Christ

 

Position in God vs. Position in the Body of Christ

John 14:2-3 "My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."

Romans 12:4-5 "For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others."

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person; for God's temple is sacred, and you together are that temple."

 

Aspect	Position (Place) in God	Position (Place) in the Body of Christ
Type	Holy Place, Holy of Holies	Temple, Tabernacle
Meaning	The believer's position and relationship in God	The believer's position and function in the Body of Christ (the Church)
Distinction	Emphasizes personal relationship with God	Emphasizes relationship with other believers in the Body of Christ
Explanation	Through Christ's death and resurrection, believers are able to enter into God	The position in God expands to become the position in the Body of Christ
Example	John 14:20 "On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you."	Romans 12:5 "so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others."
Application	1. Personal devotion and intimacy with God 2. Experiencing God's presence in daily life	1. Functioning in church life 2. Building relationships with other believers, working together
Related Scriptures	John 14:6 "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" John 14:20 "On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you." Ephesians 2:18 "For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit." John 1:14 "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 10:10b "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."	Ephesians 1:22-23 "And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way." Ephesians 2:21-22 "In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit." Ephesians 5:30 "for we are members of his body." 1 Corinthians 12:27 "Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it."

Additional Notes:

1.      These two positions are interrelated: the position in God is the foundation, which expands to become the position in the Body of Christ.

2.      Both are prepared for believers through Christ's death and resurrection.

3.      Those who do not have a position in God also do not have a place in the Body of Christ.

4.      Believers should live in both positions simultaneously, enjoying a personal relationship with God while also functioning in the Body of Christ.

5.      John 14 is a key passage for understanding the "position in God," while Romans 12 and Ephesians deeply expound on the "position in the Body of Christ."

 

*Please refer to the 2024 Summer Live Training - Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (1) Message Eleven: In the Father's House - Living in the Place Prepared for Us through Christ's Death and Resurrection